羊肉
lamb; mutton
yángròu
What does 羊肉 mean?
羊肉 (yángròu) means the meat of a sheep — covering both 'lamb' and 'mutton,' which English distinguishes by the animal's age but Chinese does not. It's a core ingredient of northern and northwestern Chinese cuisine: 羊肉串 (yángròu chuàn, lamb skewers / kebabs) from Xinjiang street stalls, 涮羊肉 (shuàn yángròu, Beijing-style lamb hot pot), 羊肉泡馍 (Xi'an's bread-soaked lamb stew), and roast whole lamb (烤全羊) at celebrations. Lamb is considered a 'warming' food in traditional Chinese medicine, so it's especially popular in winter.
Most Chinese Muslim (清真) restaurants center on lamb and beef rather than pork. Sliced thin and frozen, 羊肉片 is the iconic hot-pot ingredient. To compare meats: 牛肉 (niúròu, beef), 猪肉 (zhūròu, pork), 鸡肉 (jīròu, chicken), 鱼肉 (yúròu, fish meat) — the pattern is animal + 肉.
Character breakdown
sheep; goat (a pictograph of a sheep's head with horns)
meat; flesh
Memory hook: 羊 (sheep) + 肉 (meat) = sheep meat. The pattern works for all meats: animal + 肉.
Measure word for 羊肉
Example sentences
我喜欢吃羊肉。
Wǒ xǐhuan chī yángròu.
I like to eat lamb.
spoken
新疆的羊肉串很有名。
Xīnjiāng de yángròu chuàn hěn yǒumíng.
Xinjiang lamb skewers are very famous.
neutral
冬天吃羊肉很暖和。
Dōngtiān chī yángròu hěn nuǎnhuo.
Eating lamb in winter is warming.
neutral
请给我一斤羊肉。
Qǐng gěi wǒ yì jīn yángròu.
Please give me 500 grams of lamb.
polite
Common phrases with 羊肉
Don't confuse 羊肉 with
牛肉 is beef (from 牛, ox/cow). Same pattern as 羊肉: animal + 肉. Be sure to read the first character — ordering 牛肉 vs 羊肉 makes a big difference at a restaurant.
猪肉 is pork (from 猪, pig). 猪肉 is the most-eaten meat in Han Chinese cuisine; 羊肉 is more associated with Muslim, northern, and grasslands cuisine.
羊 alone refers to the live animal (sheep / goat). 羊肉
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